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On Friday, President Joe Biden issued an executive order that broadens the US’s ability to impose sanctions on Russia. The order aims to further separate Russia’s military and defense industry from the global economy.
The order grants the Treasury Department the power to impose “secondary sanctions” on banks and financial institutions that assist companies involved in importing technology necessary for assembling weapons and munitions for the Russian military. This type of sanction has previously been utilized against companies connected to Iran and North Korea, and has been successful in isolating these countries from the US financial system.
The actions taken on Friday could greatly impact the Biden administration’s goal of ending the connection between Russia’s military and private interests and the US dollar. However, this will involve the Treasury Department strategically targeting specific sanctions and maintaining them even under a different administration in 2025. Some potential Republican nominees, such as Vivek Ramaswamy, have expressed doubt about the US’s alliance with Ukraine and are against providing more aid for their defense efforts.
During a press briefing and a background call on Thursday, White House officials emphasized the importance of Congress passing legislation to provide additional financial aid to Ukraine. They warned that time was running out and that if action was not taken, the progress made by the Ukrainian military against Russia could be lost in the coming months.
The Republican party members in both the House and Senate are preventing additional assistance to Ukraine and Israel until their requests for the administration to reach an agreement on border security and immigration are fulfilled. Despite weeks of discussions in the Senate, a specific deal has not been reached and lawmakers have now departed from Washington for the holiday break.
While there is ongoing discussion about the impact of sanctions on Russia’s economy, the White House affirmed on Thursday that the Biden administration’s actions to penalize the Russian defense industry have undeniably been successful. Officials highlighted the significant decrease in Russian military equipment during their conflict with Ukrainian soldiers, and asserted that Russian forces are struggling to replenish these losses and supply their units due to financial limitations imposed by the US.
Earlier this month, a larger number of sanctions were imposed on over 150 private entities from third countries involved in the Russian arms trade. The announcement this week was a result of this expansion of existing sanctions authority.
On December 12, President Biden had a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, at the White House. During the meeting, Biden promised that his administration and the American people will not abandon Ukraine.
Source: independent.co.uk
